Expansion of historic area being studied

Kalispell’s historic downtown district could be growing soon.

A public meeting is planned at 7 p.m. Thursday in City Hall Council Chambers to share information about the district and how Kalispell would benefit from expanding it.

What the Main Street Historic District could mean to individual business owners is tax credits for building upgrades.

What it could mean to Kalispell’s economy is a boost from history-oriented tourism.

City officials have been working with the Montana Historic Preservation Office since 2008 to nominate the downtown for an expanded designation. As part of the process they contracted with a Missoula firm, Historical Discoveries, to conduct a survey of the district’s buildings.

“The thinking was there are many more buildings that qualify than are already identified,” Community Development Manager Katharine Thompson said.

Historical Discoveries surveyed 74 buildings and found 34 of them have been contributing to the original historic district, another 24 now qualify to be included since the last survey in 1993-94, and the other 16 have been altered so much over the years that they no longer maintain enough of their original architecture to qualify as historic.

A “contributing” building is one that is at least 50 years old and maintains its original historic character.

The new boundary reaches generally as far north as First Street West — and north to Center Street on the east — and as far south as the Fourth Street area. It encompasses Main Street and the alleys west of Main and stretches to the alley east of First Avenue East.

“All this is voluntary,” Thompson stressed. “It does not infringe on private property rights. Being listed in the district doesn’t in any way restrict your property rights. They still can do what they want to do with their buildings.”

But if a property owner chooses to participate, state and federal tax credits would be available for work exceeding $5,000 on a building. That work could be a new roof, heating/ventilation system, flooring, plumbing, electrical or a number of other projects that help preserve the structure.

Building owners also would be eligible for an informational plaque at a discounted cost from the Montana Historical Society.

There’s another value in the project, Thompson said.

“If Kalispell wants to do more to attract heritage tourism, this is a foundational step. It’s a small piece in this project,” she said. “When it was only two-and-a-half blocks it was pretty hard to market for tourism. With it being bigger, it should be easier.”

She said feedback from property owners has been overwhelmingly positive so far, although one property owner objected to the expansion. Information came from response forms sent to the state, and were forwarded to Kalispell without comments or explanations.

A public comment period on the new district boundary continues, giving affected property owners a chance to register their opinions with the state.

After that is over, Thompson will travel to Billings on May 21 to defend the application before the Montana Historical Society. Proponents for projects from other cities across Montana will do likewise. If successful there, the project advances to the National Park Service, which runs the national historic registry.

The city has three other historic districts: The Courthouse District surrounding the courthouse on South Main, the East Side Residential District and the smaller West Side Residential District.

Thursday night’s meeting will feature a DVD presentation based on a 1957 film provided by the Museum at Central School. It covers Kalispell’s general history to that time.

Thompson also will display the map showing the original Main Street Historic District and the proposed footprint, and photos from Bill and Jana Goodman documenting their restoration of the KM Building in 1998.

Anyone interested in the downtown historic district, or in Kalispell’s history in general, is welcome to Thursday’s public meeting. Light refreshments will be served.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com